boyutpedia Chapter 449 Pursuit
Chapter 449 Pursuit
After crossing the Miluo River, the pursuit troops of the New 22nd Army pursued northward for less than three hours before they engaged in a firefight with the 24th Regiment of the 6th Division, which was responsible for blocking the enemy.
The first troops to engage in fire with the Japanese were those of the New 210th Division. The officers and soldiers responsible for exploring the front discovered a simple defense line set up by the Japanese in the mud while searching forward.
Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, commander of the 24th Regiment of the Japanese Army, looked at the officers and soldiers around him who were covered in mud and sighed helplessly in his heart. The division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, ordered his 24th Regiment to stop the pursuit of the Chinese army. If it were under normal circumstances, there would be no problem, but is this a normal situation now?
No, the current situation is very unusual. In this flooded swamp area, even a trench cannot be dug. The officers and soldiers can only find some relatively dry or water-free places and lie on the ground for defense. This line of defense can only serve as a warning at most. As for stopping the attack of the Chinese army, that is impossible to do.
However, fortunately, the order issued by the division commander, Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, was to retreat and block the enemy. It was enough to slow down the advance of the Chinese army. There was no need to defend one front. This gave the regiment commander, Colonel Kawakatsu Ikuro, a lot of room for maneuver.
According to the current actual situation, the commander of the regiment, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, has divided his troops into three batches, with battalions as the units. The first battalion is guarding the front, the second battalion is responsible for defense one kilometer later, and the third battalion is responsible for defense one kilometer later. The defense time for each battalion is one hour. After the time is up, they can retreat and take turns to defend.
The regiment commander, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, felt that he could delay for three to four hours, but he estimated that the division commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, would not be able to lead his troops to the Xinqiang River smoothly through the muddy road behind within three to four hours.
However, the regiment commander, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, believed that it was impossible to hold back the Chinese army for a long time with their limited strength. You have to know that the Chinese pursuit force has two divisions, and they don't even have decent fortifications. Being able to hold back the Chinese army for four hours is already the limit.
As soon as the new 210th Division encountered the Japanese army's blocking, it immediately deployed all its troops to attack the blocking Japanese troops. Without even a tentative attack, it directly launched the most violent attack. The mortar shells of the new 210th Division smashed the first line of defense of the th Regiment as if they were free.
The regiment commander, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, was at the second battalion's defense line one kilometer behind, holding a telescope and staring with his mouth open in amazement at the bombs falling on the first battalion's defense line. The regiment commander, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, really couldn't understand why the Chinese army was willing to fire so many artillery shells on a defense line that didn't even have a trench or fortifications. This was something he had never expected.
The commander of the regiment, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, did not expect that the Chinese army could carry so many artillery shells while pursuing at such a fast speed. This was simply beyond common sense.
The commander of the regiment, Colonel Ikuro Kawakatsu, saw that the Chinese army launched an unconventional and fierce attack from the very beginning. They did not make any attempts but just attacked directly and fiercely. He began to wonder if his troops could hold on for four hours.
The attacking forces of the new 210th Division also launched a full-scale charge under the cover of mortar fire. Now, in order to buy time, the new 210th Division directly pulled up all its troops and launched a full-scale attack on the Japanese army's first line of defense, relying mainly on its numerical advantage.
On this muddy ground, the Chinese officers and soldiers were not affected at all. After all, most of the officers and soldiers of the Chinese army were farmers. For them, this muddy ground was just like working in the fields in the past. They could run very fast barefoot. Many soldiers even had the illusion of returning to their hometown to work in the fields.
The officers and soldiers of the 210st Battalion of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army lay in the mud and endured the mortar fire of the New th Division. They had no shelters and no trenches. The only thing they could count on now was their luck. If they were lucky, the Chinese army's artillery shells would not fall near them, and everything would be fine. If they were unlucky, a shell would fall and directly take the lives of several officers and soldiers.
When they heard the roars of the Chinese soldiers as they charged, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment of the Japanese Army also felt helpless. Now they are praying hard that the Chinese army's artillery shells will not fall on their heads. There is absolutely no way they can conduct any shooting under such fierce bombardment. They can only hope that the Chinese army will end the bombardment quickly, otherwise when the Chinese army's attack troops rush in front of them, they can only fight with bayonets.
The officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment of the Japanese Army were also confused. Judging from the roar of the Chinese army's charge, the Chinese army had already rushed to a place not far from them, but why hadn't the Chinese army's artillery bombardment stopped? Aren't they afraid of accidentally injuring their own people?
You know, the new 210th Division knew that it would definitely be ambushed by the Japanese army in this pursuit, and in the pursuit after crossing the Miluo River, they would also pass through the muddy area deliberately created by the Ninth War Zone. In order to strengthen the troops' offensive combat capabilities in the pursuit and the easy mobility of mortars, the new 210th Division brought all the mortars, and the officers and soldiers of the original field artillery units were also required to carry enough mortar shells to follow the battle to ensure the supply of mortar ammunition.
In addition, the mortar's shooting accuracy is highly controllable, so it can provide corresponding artillery support for a long time during the troop charge without accidentally injuring a large number of officers and soldiers of its own troops.
When the mortar attacks of the new 210th Division stopped, the remaining officers and soldiers of the st Battalion of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army raised their muddy heads and looked ahead.
Upon seeing this, the officers and soldiers of the 210st Battalion of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army were all scared to death. They saw that the attack force of the new th Division had rushed to a place about meters in front of the st Battalion's defense line.
The officers and soldiers of the 210st Battalion of the 210th Regiment of the Japanese Army quickly picked up their guns and fired forward, but because the attacking force of the New th Division was already very close, many officers and soldiers of the st Battalion could only barely fire two bullets before the attacking force of the New th Division had already rushed in front of them.
When the officers and soldiers of the 210st Battalion of the th Regiment of the Japanese Army saw that the Chinese army's attack force had rushed to them, they all climbed up from the mud, holding their rifles with fixed bayonets and fighting with the officers and soldiers of the attack force of the new th Division with bayonets.